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alexthedrummerboy · 4 years ago

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Darkest Before The Dawn

pairing: willex, past luke/alex

summary: "your parents were never cool again after you told them you were gay.” OR an exploration into alex’s past, his family life, and his relationship with religion

essentially this is all one big angsty headcanon

authors note: basically i’ve been thinking about the gold chain alex wears around his neck and i’ve been way overanalysing what it is and i thought - what if it used to be a cross necklace that his devout parents made him wear?? also i’m so desperate for alex to have more backstory that i’m pulling it out of every nook and cranny at this point

trigger warning: homophobia, bad parenting

ao3

It starts when he’s seven. He’d invited Bobby over to his house after school to play, not knowing that his dad had come home from work early. They’re sitting at the dining table, drawing with Alex’s new 36 pack of crayons when he hears it.

“I just think letting him do all that... art stuff is gonna make him...” he hears his dad say to his mom, “...soft. Girly. We already have one daughter, we don’t need another one.”

Alex doesn’t really understand what his Dad means, but he drops the crayon he’s holding and pokes Bobby on the wrist lightly. “I’m bored,” he says quietly, though his picture remains on the table unfinished. “Can we go do somethin’ else?”

Bobby furrows his eyebrows and looks down at his paper. “But... I didn’t finish colouring my dragon.”

Alex looks at his Dad in the kitchen. He’s still talking to his mom, both of their heads bowed. He has that look on his face that reminds Alex of the time his mom tried to convince them to go vegetarian for a week. “We can finish colouring later... maybe,” he says. “Let’s go play in my room.”

Bobby takes one last look at his drawing but nods, gently folding the piece of paper in half and tucking it into his backpack. “Okay.”

They walk up to Alex’s room together, hand-in-hand like always. They pass the kitchen on the way and Alex’s dad turns his head, scowling deeper when he looks at their hands. Suddenly Alex feels cold all over.

“Boys,” he says, deep voice booming. “You’re getting a little old to be holding hands, aren’t you?”

Alex lets go of Bobby’s hand immediately and tucks it into his trouser pocket instead, nodding. Bobby looks like he wants to protest but Alex just nudges him and nods towards his room.

They walk away and Alex tries to brush the experience off. He doesn’t eat much at dinner that night.

---

His dad makes him quit choir the next year. He’s up in his room practicing for the Christmas festival when he hears three quiet knocks.

“Come in,” he says, closing his music book. His dad walks in, still in his shirt and tie from work. “Oh. Hi, Dad.”

His dad smiles stiffly. “Alex, what are you doing?”

Alex looks between his dad and his choir book for a moment. “Practicing for the festival,” he says, a smile growing on his face. “Mrs. Carson gave me a solo for the first--”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” his dad says, pursing his lips. “Wouldn’t you be happier... playing a sport or something? What about baseball? You know when your old man was in school, I was a real killer on the pitch.”

Alex’s tongue feels dry in his mouth the longer his dad speaks. He hates baseball. “Um... I-I like choir, though.” His voice is quiet, barely above a breath. His dad sighs and shakes his head. Alex feels an overwhelming sense of anxiety rise inside his chest. He hates disappointing people.

“I’m just worried about you, son,” he says, sitting down on the edge of Alex’s bed. “Okay, maybe not baseball. How about... soccer?”

Alex shuffles around on his chair. He feels like his heart has stopped beating. “Drums,” he mumbles, looking down at his hands. His dad leans closer.

“Speak up, Alex.”

Alex looks up, clenching his jaw. “I-I wanna learn how to play the drums,” he says. “L-like that guy from The Rolling Stones.”

His dad goes quiet, scratching his chin like he’s thinking about it, before he smiles and nods. He claps Alex on the shoulder hard enough that it makes him wince. “Drums eh? Sure, we’ll get you a kit and you can set it up in the basement.” As he turns to walk out of Alex’s room, he turns and throws him a cheeky smile. “My boy, the drummer. You know they say girls love drummers.”

Alex isn’t sure why, but that comment makes him feel sick. He stares at his closed door for too long after his dad leaves, his thoughts twisting and turning in his mind.

---

When Alex receives his first cross, he’s 12-years-old. He immediately vows never to take it off. It’s a beautiful piece of jewellery; a small gold cross on a solid gold chain. When his mom slips it around his neck, he feels... protected, somehow. Safe.

His mom smiles at him tearily as she hooks the clasp around his neck, running her hand down the side of his face. “Congratulations, baby,” she says quietly. “You know, my mother gave me my first cross when I was exactly your age. ”

Alex just smiles and tugs on the chain lightly, feeling the cool metal against his thumb and forefinger. “Thanks, mom,” he says quietly, looking down at where it’s dangling against the soft blue of his button down.

His sister, Andrea, comes from behind him and knocks his shoulder lightly. Her own cross is silver and smaller than his, contrasting against her light skin perfectly. He doesn’t remember when she got hers. She was four years older than him and got hers when he was just a little kid. “Congrats, Lexi,” she says.

His dad comes out of the kitchen, a bottle of champagne in one hand and two flutes in the other. He’s beaming. “This calls for a celebration!”

His mother looks at his dad and tuts quietly, though she still looks pleased. “Michael, it’s barely 9. We have to leave for church soon.”

His dad simply brushes off her worry. “My son is being confirmed, Linda. We’re celebrating.” He kisses her on the cheek and hands her a champagne flute. “It won’t take long.”

He pours himself and Alex’s mother a small amount of champagne and Alex watches, entranced as they cheers and take a sip. His mother and his father lock eyes before handing their glasses to Alex and Andrea, smiling secret smiles.

“Just this once,” his dad says. “Just one sip.”

Andrea takes the flute immediately and takes a sip. Alex watches her for a moment before taking his dad’s flute and lifting it up to his mouth.

The bubbles fizz and pop in his mouth. The taste is unpleasant, but... the feeling of his dad’s eyes on him, proud and sparkling with happiness make the experience a million times better.

As they drive to church, Alex keeps his hand firmly clasped around his cross, smiling the entire time.

---

Alex receives his first kiss when he’s 14. It happens in his basement with Luke Patterson. He’d invited him over so they could work on a song together. Luke had discovered him playing drums in the music room one day and had instantly recruited him to join his band, alongside Bobby and Reggie Anderson.

They’d long since abandoned practicing any form of music and were lounging on the couch in Alex’s basement, playing video games on his Sega Genesis. He’s so close to beating Luke at Mortal Kombat. They’ve been playing for 45 minutes and Alex has managed to lose every round so far.

But, with a fatal blow, Alex watches his character drop to his knees as Luke’s character poses victoriously. He groans loudly and leans back against the couch, trying his best not to pout as he hears Luke’s laughter next to him. “No fair!” he exclaims, dropping his controller beside him on the couch.

Luke smirks, boxing Alex in the shoulder lightly. “Not my fault I’m better at this game than you are,” he says. He’s leaning towards Alex, his face mere inches away from his shoulder. “I’m just naturally skilled.”

Alex blushes and shuffles away from him, leaning into the arm rest and trying to ignore his heart as it pounds away in his chest. “Naturally ugly, more like,” he mumbles. It’s not the best comeback, but he can’t really focus right now.

Luke laughs anyway, punching Alex’s arm again and turning back to face the TV. Neither of them speak for a moment but Alex can feel the air thicken with a strange tension that he’s never felt before.

His hand automatically comes up to grip his cross, the edges of the metal digging into his palm. He takes a short breath in and out, feeling the cold metal warm up in his hand.

He feels Luke’s eyes on him and he turns. There’s a small smile on Luke’s face that Alex can’t help but return. “What?” he asks.

Luke shrugs. “Nothin’,” he says softly.

Then, he leans in closer. Alex does not pull away.

Before he even realises what’s happening, they’re kissing. It’s chaste and completely innocent; a light press of lips against lips. Alex can tell that Luke hasn’t bothered to put on chapstick in his entire 14 years of life, but he tastes vaguely of grape bubblegum and iced tea. It’s nice.

As they kiss, he feels his grip on his cross loosen until his hand falls completely slack, landing on top of Luke’s hand where it’s resting on a cushion.

They’re interrupted by the sound of footsteps against carpeted stairs. Alex jumps out of his seat and lands on the floor in front of the couch. Luke loses his balance and falls after him, landing face first in the couch cushion where Alex had just been sitting.

The basement door opens and Andrea pokes her head through, holding two capri suns and a bowl full of chips. She sees Alex on the floor and furrows her eyebrows. “Why are you on the ground?”

Alex clears his throat and blinks down at his knees, trying to hide his shaking hands. “Um... it-it’s more comfortable down here,” he mumbles.

Andrea shrugs and walks in, placing the bowl of chips and the drinks on the coffee table. “Mom told me to give these to you.” She looks between the TV and the two of them. “I thought you guys were practicing.”

“We were!” Luke says, standing up and walking over to where his guitar is resting on the other side of the room. “We took a quick video game break, but we’re ready to get back to work. Right, Alex?”

Alex nods, but he can’t stand back up. “Right,” he says breathlessly, giving Andrea a weak smile. “Thanks for the snacks.”

Andrea nods, but she looks suspicious. She walks out of the room and shuts the door behind her. Alex doesn’t exhale until her footsteps have retreated completely. He breathes out shakily and draws his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

“Hey,” Luke says, running to Alex’s side. His hand hovers above Alex’s back before resting just behind him on the couch. “You okay?”

It takes a minute, but eventually Alex nods and looks up at Luke. “Yeah,” he replies, though his hands are still balled into tight fists. “I’m good.”

Luke nods, his hand tightening and loosening its grip on the couch cushion a few times. “Was that... weird?” he asks quietly. Alex has never heard him sound this unsure before.

He shakes his head, a small smile growing on his face. “No,” he says quietly, and he means it too. “I don’t think so, anyway.”

Luke nods again, smiling brightly at Alex. “Okay. Cool.”

“Can we not... tell anyone? About that?” He asks quietly, looking up at Luke, eyes pleading. “I-I don’t know if I’m... if that...”

“Alex, of course,” Luke says earnestly, finally reaching over and resting his hand in Alex’s shoulder. “It’ll be just between us.”

Alex nods, smiling weakly. “Cool. Thanks.”

He feels mildly comforted by Luke’s words, but he can’t help the anxiety that grows in his stomach. He stands up and walks over to his kit, sitting down at his stool and twirling his drumstick in his hand.

When he closes his eyes that night, snuggled up in his bed, all he can think about are warm lips and iced tea.

---

He comes out at 16.

It doesn’t go well.

His mom cries like he’s just told her he died... but what makes him more anxious is his dad’s reaction.

He doesn’t say anything at first. Just stares at Alex with that those hard, light eyes. He doesn’t even look angry, he just looks... disappointed.

“Dad?” he says quietly. The word gets caught in his throat.

His dad breathes in slowly and stands up. He walks out of the living room shaking his head. Alex watches him go until he’s completely out of sight. All he can hear are his mothers sobs. All he can feel is the weight of his guilt pressing down on him.

His cross feels like it’s burning his skin through the fabric of his t-shirt. Suddenly it feels like he’s wearing a ten pound weight around his neck. It’s hard to swallow.

He wants to comfort his mom, but he doesn’t even know what he would say. What could he say that wouldn’t make everything worse?

So, he stands up and takes one last look at his mom before walking down the hall. He passes Andrea on the way to the basement. She looks at him and then toward the living room where they can both hear their mother’s sobs.

“What’s wrong with mom?” she asks, placing a hand on his elbow. The touch burns.

Alex opens his mouth to speak but the words he wants to say get stuck in his throat. He brushes past her, ignoring her questions and running down the stairs to the basement and shutting the door behind him.

He sits down behind his drums and raises his hand to clasp his necklace, holding it so tightly his hand begins to hurt. He can’t cry. He thinks if he could, then maybe he’d feel better, but... the tears won’t come.

So, he lets go of his cross and picks up his sticks instead, twirling the left one in his hand a few times before hitting his high tom once, hard. It feels good, but the feeling doesn’t last long.

Eventually, he loses himself in the rhythm, hitting each drum harder than the last. He forgets for a moment; forgets about the disaster that had happened just minutes ago upstairs. He pauses for a minute to catch his breath but finds his mind wandering; is his mother still crying? Why hadn’t his dad said anything?

He shakes the thought free before pounding on his drums again. He’s not even beating out a rhythm now; he’s just trying to fill the space with noise to keep his thoughts out.

He’s interrupted when the door opens. It's his dad, holding an empty duffel bag, a somber expression on his face. Alex raises his eyebrows and takes his earplugs out of his ears. “Dad?”

His dad winces when Alex speaks, throwing the empty duffel bag onto the floor. “Pack your things.”

All the blood drains from Alex’s face and he stands up on shaky legs. He’s gripping his drumsticks so tightly, it’s a miracle that the wood doesn’t fuse with his skin. “Wh-where’re we goin’?” he asks, though he has a suspicion.

“We aren’t going anywhere, son,” his dad says. His eyes are on the carpet. He can’t even look at Alex. “Your mother and I... we can’t have you staying in this house.”

“What?!”

“If you’re going to choose to live with your... affliction,” he spits out the word like it’s poison; and in his dad’s mind, perhaps it is, “then it won’t do to have you living here, corrupting us with your ungodly temptations.”

“Dad--”

His father holds up a hand. “I’ll give you 15 minutes to get your things and leave.” He turns to leave the basement but Alex calls him back.

“Where am I supposed to go?” he asks, voice cracking as he tries to fight the tears that threaten to run down his cheeks. He knows crying will only make him more upset. His father doesn’t turn around.

“You can figure that out on your own.” Then, he walks out. Alex is alone. After a few moments, he walks out from behind his drums and picks up the. empty bag with weak hands and walks up to his room.

He’s working on autopilot as he shoves clothes and shoes and random items (when will he ever need his model robot?) into the bag until it’s almost full to bursting. He drops the bag on his bed and stares at it. He can’t hear anything; all the sounds around him are dull, muted almost.

He turns around and catches a glimpse of his reflection in his bedroom mirror. He still looks the same as he had that morning when he’d gotten dressed for school. There are still drawings on the back of his hand in blue and black ink from third period when Bobby and Luke decided to draw on him in lieu of paying attention to what Mr. Peters was saying.

Remarkably, he looks the same... but he couldn’t be more different.

Alex’s eyes drop to the necklace around his neck. It almost hurts to look at now. He’d done well by his vow; hadn’t ever taken it off, even when Jeremy Matthews teased him about it (and received a firm smack on the head from Reggie).

Shakily, he lifts his hands and unclasps the necklace, holding onto the chain so tight that the links begin to make grooves in his skin. He takes hold of the cross and swallows thickly, looking at his warped reflection in the surface of it.

He slowly slides the cross off of the chain and places it on his nightstand. The chain, though, he keeps though he doesn’t really know why. He puts the chain back around his neck. It feels bare without the cross on it weighing it down, but... Alex finds he kind of likes it.

With that, he picks up his duffel bag and walks out of his room. He can hear the quiet sound of scraping cutlery against ceramic and he winces. They’d started dinner without him.

As he walks towards the front door, he passes the dining table. When she hears his footsteps, Andrea looks up from her untouched plate of food and stands up. Alex shakes his head silently at her, gripping his bag strap tighter.

His parents don’t even look up. He gives Andrea a half-hearted smile and a wave before walking out the front door. He doesn’t bother taking his keys with him; he knows he won’t need to use them again.

The cold, night air smacks him right in the face as soon as he closes the door behind him. Then, without a second glance, he leaves and begins the short trek to Bobby’s house.

---

“So, I was wondering...”

Willie turns to Alex and smiles at him, squeezing his hand gently. “Yeah?”

They’ve been walking down the pier together in comfortable silence for almost 15 minutes, but the question bubbles up in Alex’s chest before he can control himself.

Alex looks down at their interlaced fingers before gesturing towards the necklace around Willie’s neck. “What’s that key around your neck for?”

At the mention of his necklace, Willie wraps his hand around the key and gives it a light tug with his free hand. If Alex notices how Willie’s slowed their walking pace slightly, he doesn’t say anything.

“It’s my house key,” he says softly. Alex parts his lips in surprise. “When I was a kid, I... I was pretty irresponsible. I was always losing things in random places. My mom used to tell me I’d lose my arms if they weren’t attached to my shoulders.” The smile on his face makes Alex want to cry. “When my folks gave me my first house key, it felt like I was finally growing up. I was so scared I would lose it, so I bought a chain. I’ve worn it around my neck ever since.”

“Even after...” Alex doesn’t continue his train of thought but Willie understands regardless. He nods.

“When I woke up after the accident, it was actually the first thing I reached for,” Willie says quietly, gripping Alex’s hand like a lifeline. “Force of habit, I guess.”

“Have you ever tried to visit your place?” Alex asks quietly, steering Willie towards the edge of the pier so they can sit by the water. Willie nods.

“A couple times. After I died, I didn’t visit for months. It hurt too much.” He pauses, looking out over the water as he scoots closer to Alex until their shoulders are pressed together. “I visited them for the first time a year after I’d died. I couldn’t go in. I was too scared, so I just watched from the windows like a total creeper.” There’s a chuckle in Willie’s voice that astounds Alex. He doesn’t know how he can be so cheerful even while talking about something so heartbreaking. “My family moved sometime around ‘89. I haven’t tried to find them since.”

Alex nods, listening to the sound of the crashing waves and seagulls as they fly overhead. He doesn’t feel pressured to comfort Willie at all. He thinks that telling him his story might’ve upset Alex more than it upset him. Instead, he rubs his knuckles with his thumb slowly, his finger savouring the feel of every dip and crevice.

“What about you?” Willie asks suddenly, turning to Alex. There’s a smile in his eye that Alex never wants to look away from. “Is that gold chain around your neck a remnant from your gangster rap phase, or...?”

Alex laughs brightly, throwing his head back. He can feel Willie laughing too, his shoulders bouncing up and down with every giggle. He stops and breathes out quietly, looking down at his chain and hooking his finger through it.

“Um... there used to be a cross hanging from it,” he says. “My parents got it for me for my confirmation when I was 12. I basically didn’t take it off for five years.”

Willie pauses, shuffles closer; almost as if he can tell what’s coming next. He doesn’t say anything, though, and somehow that makes it easier for Alex to keep going.

“When I came out, my parents um... they weren’t very cool about it,” he says, tugging a little harder on the chain. “My dad kicked me out.” Willie’s grip on his hand tightens and Alex lets out a breath. “When I was leaving, I took the cross off. It didn’t seem right to keep it after...” he clears his throat. “I kept the chain. I’m still not really sure why... I’ve been thinking about it ever since I left home. I think it’s just... a reminder of why I left and what I have now.”

Willie smiles, bumping their shoulders together. “What do you have now?”

He looks at Willie and find that he can’t control the smile that’s growing on his face either. Under the setting sun, Willie looks so beautiful; his tanned skin practically glowing and long dark hair moving with the breeze. He leans in and brushes a gentle kiss against the side of his lips. He feels Willie’s hand come up to cup his cheek and he leans into the touch.

They pull away from each other after a few seconds and Alex smiles again, resting their foreheads together.

“Freedom.”

#alex jatp #willex #willie jatp #julie and the phantoms #jatp fanfic #owen patrick joyner #booboo stewart #writing tag

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virgocity · 7 years ago

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Shay was in a particularly fussy mood that afternoon, sharp baby fangs pushing their way through the soft tissue of his gums, and he wanted us all to know that he was upset about it. He pushed away all the food Blake tried to feed him, threw all of the toys he was given, and wailed in displeasure anyone tried to comfort him.

But watching Blake, a fearless vigilante warlord, struggle to placate her own infant son was more fun than sitting at home and listening to Lexie blast the Mortal Kombat soundtrack, so that was what I did.

“Can you, like, make yourself useful and help me?” she asked, staring at me like she wanted me dead.

“Babies hate me,” I said, “so no.”

“So glad I made you godmother,” she mumbled.

#mom!blake is the best blake #bb #bb3

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lexiholic826 · 3 years ago

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Thank you for the tag!

1. Why did you choose your url? My name is lexi and I’m a lesbian

2. Any side blogs? Yes! @gaythoughtsthathauntmedaily @one-time-in-school @imgayforlaracroft @jessefadenfbc

3. How long have you been on tumblr? Ah, this account I think is from 2016? But I’ve been visiting tumblr since like 2012

4. Do you have a queue tag? I normally don’t queue things so uhhh, no

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place? I heard tumblr was a cool site to talk about different fandoms in so I joined. Lots of highs and lows all around, but overall it’s been great!

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp? Chloe is sexy af and I love her sm

7. Why did you choose your header? Idk, I wanted to post something different than life is strange and I already have side blogs for my other main fandoms so I used picrew and made my OC’s

8. What’s your post with the most notes? I think this one? https://lexithelesbian.tumblr.com/post/649392235380637696/just-watched-mortal-kombat-and-wow-i-want-the

9. How many mutuals do you have? Oh god idk, I know I have mutuals on my Control blog but idk about this one.

10. How many followers do you have? 327 (hi!)

11. How many people do you follow? Oh god idk, but it’s definitely under 50.

12. Have you ever made a shitpost? Oh definitely

13. How often do you use tumblr each day? I usually check in when I wake up and at night. At random points throughout the day I’ll scroll through and see what’s new.

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? I don’t think so. I’ve uncomfortable stood my ground a few times but never argued with anyone

15. How do you feel about the “you need to reblog this” posts? Ugh I hate them. I understand that r*pe and c*ncer and shit are bad but don’t guilt trip me into guilt tripping other people.

16. Do you like tag games? Yes!

17. Do you like ask games? Hell yes!

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? Probably @summerfelldraws Her art is PHENOMENAL.

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual? Not like an actual crush, but sometimes somebody will post something and I’m just like “holy fuck I love you”

Tagging whoever wants to do this!

Tag Game

Thanks for tagging me @einsesk!! <3

1. Why did you choose your url?

I knew I’d be primarily posting about Control so I wanted a Control url

2. Any side blogs?

This is a side blog. My main is @birdsinaspaceship

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

On my main blog, like 5 or 6 year? But I’ve only been active here for about a year.

4. Do you have a queue tag?

No, I don’t usually use a queue

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I wanted a little space to yell about video games and to post gifs and such

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

I’m a lesbian and I love Jesse

7. Why did you choose your header?

It’s a screenshot that I took and I just think it’s neat

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

A gifset of all the times Jesse is pining for Emily in the Foundation. So many people have tagged it as ‘Jesse, that’s gay’ and they’re all correct.

9. How many mutuals do you have?

No idea tbh

10. How many followers do you have?

317

11. How many people do you follow?

369, but I don’t think most of them are still active

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

Probably?

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

Usually for a bit when I get home from work and before bed.

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

Never! I’m terrible at confrontation and most of y’all are chill

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

I don’t usually reblog them

16. Do you like tag games?

Yes!

17. Do you like ask games?

Also yes!

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

Not sure, probably @subjectsix?

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

Not in a romantic way. But in a ‘I think you’re really cool and I’d like to be friends but I’m too shy to reach out and start a conversation way?’ Yes, on a bunch of you.

I’ll tag @lexithelesbian and @flusteredbard if you want

#gay #lesbian #ask #asks #ask game #tag game #tags

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slutsofoswald · 6 years ago

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“Can you, like, make yourself useful and help me?” she asked, staring at me like she wanted me dead.

“Babies hate me,” I said, “so no.”

“So glad I made you godmother,” she mumbled. “You know what? Why don’t you go upstairs and bother Flora? See if she has something for you to do.” From his highchair, Shay pounded both fists on the tray and screamed. Blake turned and screamed back.

Mom!Blake, bastard!Shay and useless!Kacey are ALL fabulous.

#bb3

0 notes

wearemmauk-blog · 6 years ago

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Karate Combat Hollywood Results

Karate Combat Hollywood Results - http://mmauk.net/2019/01/26/karate-combat-hollywood-results/

Karate Combat Hollywood Results

Karate Combat: Hollywood was broadcast live on January 24th from the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles. The full contact karate competition took place in front of a VIP-audience with Danny Trejo as pit announcer. Replays of Karate Combat: Hollywood and past competitions are available on the league’s site karate.com and on its iOS and Android apps. The event will begin streaming on Karate Combat’s Roku channel and with other distribution partners on Friday evening.

Luiz Rocha of Brazil won the Main Event, defeating Myrza Tebuev of Russia by split-decision in a Challenger Match, which means Rocha will move ahead for a chance to win the lightweight division’s Golden Belt later this year. In the Co-Main Event, Elhadji Ndour of New York City by way of Senegal beat Scotland’s Calum Robb by unanimous decision. There were two dramatic first-round knockouts: Abdallah Ibrahim of New York City finished off newcomer Kevin Walker of Atlanta after only one minute with a head kick, and Brazil’s Teeik Silva knocked out Kevin Kowalczik of the United States.

“As always, the Karate Combat karate’s delivered again,” said Bas Rutten, who shared commentary duties with Sean Wheelock. “You literally see the fighters grow every time they fight. I’m so excited for the future of Karate Combat, everybody I talked to loves to watch it.”

Sitting in Karate Combat CEO Michael DePietro’s viewing platform were Lyoto and Fabyola Machida, Fabrizio Werdum (who was the first fighter to ever beat Fedor Emelianenko), and actress Olivia Munn. More famous fighters on hand included retired combat sports stars Frank Shamrock and King of the Arm Bar, Fabiano Iha. Martin Kove, who played the villain in the original Karate Kid movie series was joined by Cobra Kai TV series creators Jon Hurwitz and Josh Heald. (Kove has a role in the new series). Also on hand were Crazy Rich Asian’s star Harry Shum Jr., top L.A. chef Roy Choi, John Gourley and Zach Carothers of the band Portugal the Man, director Randal Kleiser (Grease, Blue Lagoon), Mortal Kombat series producer Larry Kasanoff, heiress Kaila Methven, model/actress Lexy Panterra, and rapper Dana Dane. Rocsi Diaz added live video interviews with the stars and fighters.

“It was an honor to commentate in such as phenomenal setting at Avalon, with a true VIP crowd in attendance,” said Sean Wheelock. “Bringing the Karate Combat pit to California took our fights to the next level, as we were able to be regulated by the outstanding California State Athletic Commission. It was a night where everyone involved rightfully feels extremely proud.”

67kg

Luiz Rocha (BRA)

Myrza Tebuev (RUS)

Rocha – Decision

-93kg

Elhadji Ndour (USA)

Calum Robb (SCO)

Ndour – Decision

-84kg

Igor De Castaneda (ESP)

Milos Vukovic (SRB)

Vukovic – Decision

-75kg

Abdallah Ibrahim (USA/EGY)

Kevin Walker (USA)

Ibrahim – KO – 1st round

-67kg

Daniel Viveros (ECU)

Ilies Mardhi (FRA)

Mardhi – Decision

-75kg

Alex Bouderbane (FRA)

Quirino Willians (BRA)

Bouderbane – TKO – 2nd round

-67kg

Nadege Ait-Ibrahim (ALG)

Ana Luiza Ferreira de Silva (BRA)

Ait – Ibrahim TKO – 3rd round

-67kg

Teeik Silva (BRA)

Kevin Kowalczik (USA)

Silva – KO – 1st round

-75kg

Luis Diogo (POR)

Jonas Correia (USA)

Correia – Decision

#Karate Combat

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daleisgreat · 7 years ago

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The War

Today’s film has been sitting unwatched in my backlog longer than most of the other films I have covered so far. I recall buying it around 2001/2002 when visiting Best Buy was a regular payday occurrence to see what was on sale. One of those DVDs I impulse bought is today’s entry which I first viewed shortly after its original release in 1994, The War (trailer). The Simmons family is barely surviving trying to make ends meet in a typical hot and humid Mississippi summer in 1970. Siblings Stu (Elijah Wood) and Lidia (Lexi Randall) are toiling away their summer building their dream tree fort while engaged in an intense feud with rival rural neighbor siblings, the Lipnickis. Meanwhile their father, Stephen (Kevin Costner) struggles to find stable work while suffering the effects of PTSD coming back from the Vietnam War. When I originally saw The War when it hit theaters I was 11, which is right around the same age as Elijah Woods’ character here so suffice it to say Stu easily resonated with me. A big part of this movie is about Stu and Lidia making their local quarries and woods the ultimate summer hang out spot and engaging in their own brand of rural warfare with the Lipnickis kids and the film makes some extreme correlations relating it to flashbacks from Stephen’s drama he experienced in ‘Nam. That is no hyperbole either, because in the film’s big final act the Simmons and Lipnickis are beating the tar out of each other in a sick/awesome slow-motion montage of preteen kids pounding each other with their own unique weaponry while Stu pauses and takes it in and has visions of his father’s Vietnam stories. It is a bizarre scene you just have to see to believe.

I tried to hunt down that iconic scene on YouTube, but was met with failure. I will link instead to another big moment from the film where Lidia’s friend Elvadine (LaToya Crisholm) stands up for herself in summer school class when the teach attempts to segregate the classroom. Again, like the tree fort fight, the scene is amped up, but that is a good thing as the filmmakers here just go for it and hold nothing back like they do with other scenes, for better or worse. Stephen finally finds work at a high-risk mining job, and the film instantly foreshadows doom and gloom, but instead of dragging out a few scenes with routine days on the job, The War wastes no time and has Stephen experience hard times no less than 30 seconds into his first mining scene. I want to give props to director Jon Avnet for nailing so many little things that went a long way with me like the way the actors sulk in those dreadful, humid summer weather and how everyone’s southern accent is spot on throughout. There are a few scenes where Stu gets up to no good and winds up in impromptu fights with random Lipnickis siblings and Stephen intervenes and preaches to him to rise up above violence and not to think with his fists. It is a big life lesson moment, which I could not help but crack up at as Stu continues to ignore it and winds up in more fights and skirmishes throughout the movie.

A lot of people will rightly first associate Elijah Wood for voicing the iconic videogame character Spyro the Dragon….just kidding we all know what he is primarily known for, but The War was one of his first films and he won a handful of young actor awards from it that recognized him with some serious acting chops. It was a breakout two year span of films for Wood in 1993-94 that put him on the map along with his performances in Adventures of Huck Finn and North that have only lead to bigger and better roles for him to this day. The War also was the debut film for another actor I covered recently here, where Lucas Black made his big screen debut with his performance of Ebb Lipnicki. Black is just as cocky and gung-ho here as an obnoxious eight year old as he was about 12 years later in his leading performance in Tokyo Drift. Seeing how this is an ancient DVD originally printed in 1999, there is little on here in the way of extras. It has a trailer, production notes and film-ographies. Not many DVDs have production notes and film-ographies any more and I kind of miss them a tisch. The IMDB app has made film-ographies irrelevant for many years now, but I always scour through production notes whenever I see them on a DVD. Do not let the lack of extras sway you from checking out The War however. If you have older parents this would likely be up their alley. I recommended it to my 76-year-old dad after watching it again as I constantly hear him harking back to stories from his childhood years running wild on a farm, so The War should easily be in his wheelhouse. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Creed Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Hercules: Reborn Hitman Ink Interstellar Jobs Man of Steel Marine 3 & 4 Mortal Kombat The Replacements Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Wild The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Days of Future Past

#random movie #the war #elijah wood #kevin costner #jon avnet #Lucas Black #lexi randall #latoya crisholm

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elffees · 3 years ago

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KITANA KAAAAHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNN

#ITS WHAT SHE DESERVES OMG #IM SO PROUD!!!!!!!!!#lexi watches mortal kombat #mortal kombat #kitana

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elffees · 3 years ago

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“emperor and empress”?? oohhh did Liu Kang and Kitana get mawwied while being possessed by Quan Chi’s sorcery in the Netherealm? uwu

#lexi watches mortal kombat #wowww moving on up in the (under)world i see #the daily grind doesn’t stop just bc you went to hell i guess #mortal kombat

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elffees · 3 years ago

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thoughts on the MK 2021 movie, MK9, and MKX

so after watching the movie, i dived into the actual games a little bit. ive read that its best for newcomers to start with 9 and work their way from there, so thats what i did.

ill start off by saying that the story really surprised me, especially in MK9. i know im setting myself up for failure by being invested in the lore of a fighting game, but it was actually pretty interesting. i mean, it was nothing revolutionary of course, but i still liked it.

MK9

i really liked the story of MK9, especially the writing behind Raiden and Liu Kang. original!Raiden only sent MK9!Raiden an extremely vague warning and he just had to make do. but there was tons of nuance to it because whenever he tried to do smthg differently, things always ended up the same or worse. Scorpion still killed Sub-Zero because of Quan Chi’s meddling, some of the characters still turned into cyborgs, and then by the end almost all of the good guys were dead.

i also liked the nuance of Liu Kang not necessarily being an antagonist, but just growing disillusioned with Raiden. Raiden kept talking about ~these visions~ that were guiding him, but things still kept turning out fucked. we, the audience, know hes not wrong, but Liu Kang doesnt know that, so him thinking Raiden has just lost it makes total sense. especially with his “we have to let the supervillain win” logic in the end. i genuinely think the only thing Raiden did wrong was accidentally kill Liu Kang in their fight. like it sucks that most of the previous good guys were dead, doomed to work as Quan Chi’s minions for all time, but at least Earthrealm was saved... right?

MK10

while i think MK9 had the most interesting story, i liked MK10 just as much for different reasons. the plot was everyone dealing with the aftermath of MK9, so i was glad for the continuity. the tension between Earthrealm and the new leader of Outworld Kotal Kahn; new kids on the street Cassie and her team wanting to join the fight; Scorpion/Hanzo and Kuai Liang making amends and Hanzo finally learning the truth about Quan Chi; Jax overcoming his trauma of being an ex-revenant; current revenant Liu Kang not necessarily liking his fate, but still holding a grudge against Raiden for killing him; etc. the plot of MKX overall felt like a well fleshed out premise. its really hard for such a short game to fit in so many moving pieces, but it did and it worked well. in my opinion anyway.

i think the one criticism i’d have would be the way Cassie Cage was handled. i know power scaling is virtually impossible in this series since characters defeat others based on what the plot needs rather than on actual power, but Cassie defeating superpowered Shinnock was just a little much, especially since we saw Sub-Zero sock the shit out of her only, what? days before?? maybe it wouldve been better if the New Kids™️ all worked together to take down superpowered Shinnock, now that i could see. but for rookie Cassie to do it all on her own... idk. like i was proud of her, just kinda confused lol.

but one other thing i really liked about MKX is the development of Dark Raiden. it makes complete sense that after the bs Earthrealm has had to deal with just in these two games alone, he’d be sick and tired. him not giving anymore fucks is very interesting and im curious to see what theyre going to do with it when i go into MK11.

tieing back to the movie

when i first watched the 2021 movie, i thought it was a decent turn-your-brain-off action flick. the graphics were well done, the acting was good, and i love Lewis Tan. i read that a lot of hardcore MK fans didnt like the character of Cole Young. “why did they introduce a new character??” i thought who cares? its a new medium so it made sense that strangers to the series (like me) would need a fill in. besides i had heard rumors that new characters got released practically every MK game so that complaint felt almost hypocritical if anything.

now that ive gotten into two of the games tho, while i still dont think creating a new character was a bad call, i do understand the criticism a little more. Cole is a descendant of Hanzo, but Hanzo’s entire schtick is that his whole family was killed by Quan Chi. like thats his main motivation for wanting revenge. thats his whole plot. by the movie pulling a “hidden baby in the floorboard” it feels a little... fanfiction-esque in terms of an origin story. i still liked Lewis’ performance tho and think they shouldve just went with making him an already established character (maybe Kenshi? idk), or still a new character but just not attached to the one guy who’s entire backstory is being the last of his line.

i do still think the movie was pretty good tho, especially for an adaptation. they changed some things, like i believe the human characters in the game just had supernatural powers from birth (im assuming??) meanwhile in the movie, they get them from the tattoo/scar a champion gets. thats a fine change imo.

conclusion

all in all, the series is better than i expected. i liked the story of MK9 and X, and i have yet to start 11. ppl said MK9 was a quick skim of all the previous games, and i think it did relatively well at not feeling rushed. everything made sense. the only time i was confused was trying to figure out which Sub-Zero was which between Bi Han and Kuai Liang, who became Noob and who became Cyber, and who the hell got resurrected in X (i know now it was Kuai. RIP Bi Han, i knew you for 5 seconds and you were a dick the entire time). my favorite characters lore wise probably have to be Kitana, Takeda, and Kung Jin, while my faves gameplay wise probably have to be Sonya in 9/Cassie in X, Nightwolf, and D’Vorah.

#lexi watches mortal kombat #long text post //#mortal kombat #no one really cares but whatever! maybe we just like to hear ourselves talk sometimes #babbles

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